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Hand Ball Rule
Nowhere does the rule book say anything about whether or not the player gains an advantage by the ball hitting his or her hand. In other words, even if the ball were to hit a player's arm and drop right at his feet or even were to go directly into his opponents' goal, these are not fouls if they were unintentional acts. As recently as 1996, FIFA specifically changed the laws to make it very clear that it is only a foul if the player handles the ball deliberately.
So how can one tell if a hand ball is intentional or not? First, if a ball, such as a clearance out of the defense, hits a player so fast that they have no time to react then this cannot be a hand ball. Likewise, bouncing balls that come up and hit a player's arm or balls that hit a player's arm when his or her back is turned are generally not fouls. On the other hand, when a player uses her hand at her side to control a ball that comes in at waist level or has time to reach out and touch a ball, then these clearly should be called. A good rule-of-thumb to use is if the player's hand comes to the ball, it is a foul. If the ball comes to the hand, it is not a foul.
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